How to Transfer QuickBooks to a New Computer?

When QuickBooks Desktop users have to change their computers, they get worried about the data they have stored on their old system. Whether it is a new QuickBooks Desktop installation or a migration of old QuickBooks files to their new system, the accounting software has to be set up properly before it can be used for tracking income and expenditure. There are two ways of moving QuickBooks to a new system. This blog will teach you how to transfer QuickBooks to a new computer using both the methods.

Manual Transfer of QuickBooks to a New Computer

The manual transfer is the more straightforward but less comprehensive method of migrating QuickBooks Desktop to a new computer. In this method, you are simply uninstalling the QuickBooks copy from the old system and reinstalling it on the new computer.

• Make a note of the product and license numbers of your current QuickBooks Desktop installation.
• Uninstall the application from the existing system.
• Reinstall QuickBooks Desktop on the new computer either from a CD or by downloading the installer files from the internet. You will need your Product and License numbers once you accept the software license agreement.
• Use your business phone along with ZIP code to register QuickBooks on the new device.
• Move your company files to the new computer and open them with QuickBooks as you normally would.

Drawbacks of Manual QuickBooks Transfer

The manual QuickBooks transfer involves performing many avoidable tasks that increase the chances of QuickBooks Errors.

• Users will have to ensure that the right version of QuickBooks Desktop is available along with other details.
• The company files will have to be manually transferred to the new system.
• Extensions and add-on services will have to be set up again.
• Other settings such as printers will also have to be managed manually.
• Customizations for reports, templates, and other components will have to be done again.

Transfer QuickBooks to a New Computer Using Migrator Tool

The Migrator Tool automates and simplifies the transfer of QuickBooks Desktop from an old system to a new one.
You will need an internet connection for the new computer and a flash drive to copy QuickBooks data using the tool.

• To use the Migrator Tool, launch QuickBooks Desktop on the old computer and navigate through File>Utilities>Move QuickBooks to another computer.
• Create a one-time password and wait for the tool to copy QuickBooks files from the existing system to the flash drive.
• Insert the flash drive into the new computer and launch Move_QuickBooks.bat.
• Type in the password and wait for the tool to complete the transfer process for you to start working on QuickBooks Desktop.

In addition to the product and version details, the Migrator Tool also copies 3 of the latest company files, customizations such as templates, forms, and reports, attachments, and related files such as .tlx, .cfp, .lmr executable files if you are using any of the other components.

Drawbacks of Transferring QuickBooks With Migrator Tool

Despite the simplified and automated process of moving QuickBooks Desktop from one computer to another using the Migrator Tool, users have to perform some steps to get started with QuickBooks on their new machine.

• The multi-user setup configuration has to be performed manually.
• Setup for payments and payroll processing is not automated, and users will have to log in manually on the new system. A similar process has to be followed if you are using Intuit Data Protect (IDP).
• All company files, other than the 3 most recently opened ones, will have to be copied manually.
• No manual backups will be moved by the Migrator Tool to the new system.

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